Monday, November 11, 2013

Lifelong Learning: Reads on the Road Launch Party at 70 Park Avenue Hotel

By: Wela Quan

In today’s fast paced world, nothing is more comforting than curling up with a good book on a fall evening. But what if you are away from home and don’t have your favourite books on hand or simply forgot to pack on in your rush to the airport? 70 Park Avenue Hotel, a quaint traveler’s hotel in midtown seems to have come up with a solution to this problem: offer your guests book to read as part of their stay!

Reads on the Road Titles

This past Wednesday I had the pleasure of attending 70 Park Avenue Hotel’s “Reads on the Road” launch party, where the hotel introduced its new “Reads on the Road” program. Partnering with Atria Publish Group (a division of Simon & Schuster), 70 Park Avenue Hotel’s “Reads on the Road” program is an exciting new way for travelers to learn about the latest works from an array of New York Times bestselling authors. The program is simple: when guests check into the hotel they will be able to download the books on offer via the hotel’s website while on the hotel’s property. At check out, guests have an option to buy the book.

At the launch, three new books were on offer for readers to peruse including Diane Setterfield’s Bellman & Black, Spencer Quinn’s The Sound and the Furry and Jamie McGuire’s Red Hill. All three books featured this month were chosen according to the Halloween theme and feature plenty of ghosts and suspense. Further new books will be released also based on seasonal themes.

70 Park Avenue Lobby, courtesy of 70 Park Avenue

At the party, I had a chance to speak with both Diane Setterfield and Spencer Quinn who were both at the event to sign books and discuss their latest works. Diane Setterfield, known for her novel The Thirteenth Tale had come all the way from the U.K. and was on multi-city book tour. It is interesting to note that The Thirteenth Tale has been adapted for television starring Vanessa Redgrave which will be airing on BBC soon. Bellman & Black is about a man named Bellman who has always been blessed with fortune – until he encounters misfortune. Through a series of events Bellman finds himself entering into a strange bargain in a ghastly business – perfect for the fall weather and Halloween. Spencer Quinn’s The Sound and the Furry, the sixth of his bestselling mystery series involving Chet the main canine narrator and his human partner P.I. Bernie Little. This time the duo travels to New Orleans to try to solve yet another mystery. After a long day travelers would like nothing more than to huddle in bed with a good book and as such 70 Park Avenue Hotel’s new “Reads on the Road” is the perfect end to a busy day.